Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 23: Having given bonanza to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in the union budget, the two states ruled by his two key NDA allies, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi may feel securely ensconced in the chair but it has left the opposition parties wondering whether it was a national budget or a financial statement for only two states.
The opposition leaders from most of the states kept complaining that the union finance minister did not even once mentioned the names of big states like West Bengal, Telangana, both non-BJP ruled states, or even BJP-ruled Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh sanctioning special projects and he entire exercise was only aimed at pleasing the BJP’s two close allies, the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in AP and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the two parties whose support is vital for the Modi 3.0 government to stay in power.
They also expressed shock that after 10 years in power, Mr Modi for the first time realised that AP and Bihar states were backward enough deserving bonanza of central assistance to step on the paddle of development.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Union Budget a “kursi bachao budget” and claimed it makes “hollow promises” to BJP allies at the cost of other states. The former Congress chief also claimed that the budget was “copy and paste” job of the Congress manifesto for 2024 polls and previous budgets.
The JD(U) and TDP expectedly hailed the big-ticket measures for Bihar and AP. Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar said he was “happy with the aid” given to Bihar, while his Andhra counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu thanked the Centre for recognising the needs of his state.
Nitish Kumar said, “I have continuously spoken for this (special status), I told them as well (NDA). I told them to give us either a special status or a special package… As a follow-up, they have announced aid for a lot of things… We were speaking of special status and a lot of people said the provision for special status has been done away with much earlier. So, instead of that, aid should be given for helping Bihar. They have now started it…”
Naidu, meanwhile, said the support from the central government would go a long way towards rebuilding Andhra Pradesh. “On behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh, I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for recognising the needs of our state and focusing on a capital, Polavaram, industrial nodes and development of backward areas in AP (Andhra Pradesh) in the union budget of FY 24-25,” he said in a post on X. He further congratulated the finance minister for presenting a “progressive and confidence-boosting budget.”
Coalition politics was in full play as Sitharaman made multiple announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are ruled by the key partners of the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In one of the first reactions by the TDP, Union minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said the budget has delivered on the expectations of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
“It’s not just relief, it’s the responsibility that we have as part of the NDA government to deliver on the assurances and expectations that the people of Andhra Pradesh have from us,” he said. “With the budget today we have done that. The main interest of the people is to rebuild the state; backward districts in the state have got special focus. The YSRCP government completely destroyed Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said those who were calling for the resignation of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar should now step down from their posts. “This budget is the first step before the realisation of special status for Bihar,” he said.
A day before, the Centre reiterated its stand that it would not grant special status to Bihar, as a case for it to be in this category cannot be made out on the basis of existing rules. The JD(U) had earlier passed a resolution demanding special status, which includes tax relief and higher central funding for the beneficiary states.
For Bihar, the finance minister proposed an outlay of Rs 26,000 crore for different road projects while outlining plans for new airports and sports infrastructure. The government will also provide Rs 11,500 crore to the state for flood mitigation, she said.
In a boost for Andhra Pradesh, she announced Rs 15,000 crore for the development of Amaravati as the state capital. She said the NDA government has “made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments” in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. She added that “special financial support” will be facilitated by the Centre through multilateral agencies.
